2023 MG MG4 Essence 64 long term review

Since NZ Autocar drove the MG4 last year, it has picked up more awards, including Bargain of the Year from Top Gear, and 2023 UK Car of the Year.

Carwow also gave it their gong. Matt Watson reckoned it was not only amongst the best electric cars to drive but it was the best car he’d driven all year.

High praise indeed. Some locals must agree given in December it was far and away the best selling new car in New Zealand.

That said, it was also the month when the Clean Car Discount ended. Interesting that it was the MG4 that folk wanted most though.

That’s because it not only reviews well but we reckon it has no serious drawbacks. The few it has are relatively minor; the boot at 350L isn’t huge, and the missus moaned about having to operate the rear tailgate manually as it isn’t that lightweight.

On odd occasions the operating system refuses to select Drive or Reverse but we generally found pushing a bit harder on the brake pedal, or reapplying it, made the system activate.

There are quite a few hard plastics inside and out too. And rearward visibility isn’t great with the large headrests and small rear window. A 360 degree camera partly compensates. So nothing major.

It’s a good look too, if you’re after a hatch-type offering. And almost everyone thought that, even if a few weren’t enamoured of the Volcano Orange hero colour, one chap calling it an eyesore.

Others, however, said the hot orange hue was the final reason for making it their next car. It highlights the fast shape of the vehicle, and on this Essence 64 model the roof is finished in contrasting black.

The red and blue hues also suit this car, the grey not so much. For a moderately affordable electric family car, it is amongst the sharpest looking out there.

People also praised its interior, which is remarkably simplistic. There are few buttons, most of them on the wheel. We found the infotainment system a touch slow during the start-up phase, and sometimes required a couple of stabs to effect a command.

There’s no physical stop-start button, just unlock, belt up and go; the system comes on line once you’re seated. And it shuts down upon lock up.

There’s not much bonging, and lane keeping is easy to dismiss if you find it annoying. It makes the fast steering even better too.

MG4 feels solid with chunky doors, and it was rattle- and squeak-free despite our sampler having racked up over 5000km.

It also has five-star crash ratings, from both EuroNCAP and the Australasian equivalent so the new electric platformt is sound.

The $54,990 Essence 64 pictured here has a 62.1kWh usable battery pack, while the motor that drives the rear wheels produces 150kW/250Nm.

Performance is decent; it’s easy to beat the non-electric traffic off the line. And the ride and handling package we’ve already rated as amongst the best in the ‘affordable’ electric class.

You can also get the same powertrain in Excite 64, for $3k less, only that model doesn’t have quite the spec level of the Essence 64 (smaller wheels, fewer safety and convenience features).

There’s an entry-level less potent fleet option, Excite 51 (350km), while the long range 77kWh version (530km) costs $63,990. For slightly more money ($69,990) you could go wild and crazy in the 320kW/600Nm AWD MG4 XPower variant.

It’s at the expense however of range (less than 400km) and a firmer ride. All come with a seven-year unlimited kilometre warranty for both car and battery.

The 64kWh battery pack takes roughly nine hours to fully rejuvenate using a wall box, and 10-80 per cent evidently takes 28min on a 150kW fast charger.

We used the supplied emergency charger and you can add about 20 per cent in six hours. We just hooked up occasionally when the car wasn’t being used and over the summer break it never went below 40 per cent.

Claimed mean energy use of 13.8kWh/100km you can expect in town, while on the highway we managed around 15-16L/100km.

The long term average was 16.9. After a full recharge DTE indicates 450km. Expect about 400km if you’re doing mainly highway or open road running.

All models come with the MG Pilot driver assist system (adaptive cruise, switchable lane keeping, AEB, and traffic jam assist) but Essence gets a few extra safety items like blind spot monitoring, lane change assist, door opening warning, and rear cross traffic alert.

Other features include automatic LED headlights, rear parking sensors, automatic climate control and wireless phone charging.

Front sensors would be nice as you can’t see the front of the bonnet from the driver’s seat.

MG4 deserves to sell well; it gets the basics really right, and some of the niggly features might well be sorted by over-the-air updates.

This story first appeared in the February 2024 issue of NZ Autocar magazine.